CHAPTER 11: Hurricane
Hopping to my feet I walked to the far end of the room, stopping momentarily where the Ba was sucked into the magical tornado. Lying in the center of the clean circle was a small stone pendant with three waving lines, it looked like something a hippie chick would drill a hole in then weave a piece of rope through so she could wear it around her neck.
It gave me a good chuckle. I picked it up and continued across the room.
I reached down picking up the head to my broken sledgehammer and stored it with the bottom piece in my inventory.
At the end of the room was another closed stone door, I slapped the pendant into the center where a small circle indent made the placement obvious. However, this time I didn’t tempt the fates with more cheap, witty remarks.
The door cracked and groaned, sliding open to reveal another wide hallway continuously sloped downwards. As I strolled down the hall torches lit my approach like motion sensor lights.
I took my time to let my health regenerate, delaying the inevitable outcome that some face eating zombie jumps out of his secret little hidey hole to finish me off.
In the distance I could barely make out the end of the hallway, I stopped and removed my dagger, waiting.
After a few moments, nothing happened.
My health was slowly ticking back up as the wounds on my leg started turning to scars. I sat down keeping my eyes on the end of the hall where 2 sentinels stood, backs to a wide open lit grotto, each holding a long, two handed sword at their side.
The previous fight with the Ba gave me enough experience for a level up. So in preparation for the next fight I opened my stat sheet and applied the points.
After finishing my stat points read,
Base Stats:
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 16
Endurance: 15
Vitality: 18
Will: 12
Intelligence: 11
Unallocated Stat Points: 0
The sentinels still hadn’t moved an inch, I was beginning to think they may be statues but didn’t want to take the chance. I sat with my legs splayed out in front of me, keeping the possible enemies front and center.
I took a deep breath focusing on the possible fight ahead.
“I need to fight smarter, I can do better than this. I did alright with the last fight but I should have died a few times. I need to do better if, or when, the plan falls apart. One false move means death.” I spoke with myself while running through the previous fights in my head, thinking what I should or could have done differently.
I thought back on the years of boxing, martial arts training, the years wrestling and all of the competitions, the wins but mostly the losses. My intelligence stat making the act of remembering them much easier.
So far I had been going at everything like a maniac just swinging for the fences and doing the real life equivalent of button mashing. I need to tame the adrenaline and use my head.
Easier said than done.
I thought back on the forms used when my dad talked me into taking Aikido because he thought Segal was a real life terminator.
I stood to my feet and went through all of the different stances I'd learned throughout my life. As I made the familiar movements, I felt a calm spread over my body. While they all felt familiar and comfortable, none felt suitable for the world I find myself living in.
I must have went over the fights in my head over a hundred times. Picking out every mistake and thinking what could have been done better.
“God Dammit! Overthinking bullshh... This is stupid. Let’s just fight and get this over with... What are you trying to make some sort of training montage in your mind? Keep your head and kill the motherfuckers.” I berated myself as I continued down the hall.
As the torches lit my descent I looked to the walls behind them.
Carved into the wall looked to be a story, I’m assuming a dedication to this Tempest guy. It showed a tall bird man, similar to my Ba guy but different. His face was more eagle like than my resurrecting friend who had more humanly features above the beak.
The stone carved tapestries showed the Tempest, in every rendition he controlled the air around him, sometimes strong gusts blowing over lines of demons, others violent twisters throwing his enemies into the sky.
The different portrayals showed him wielding an axe or a sword, in each he killed scores of demons on a burning husk of a world.
Toward the end it showed the Tempest summoning what looked to be a hurricane, he stood on a familiar mountain top surrounded by different monstrosities and demons.
“Huh... It didn’t look burned up outside, but there was also no sign of civilization.” I pondered aloud, I was beginning to wonder how long ago this happened and if there was any sapient life left on the planet.
As I approached the doorway I looked above the head of the 2 statuesque sentinels to view the last entry.
It depicted the fall of the Tempest on this same mountain.
Around him, armies of dead angel-like creatures.
One large woman stood above the rest, the scene sketched in obvious hate with deeper marks denting and cracking the stone.
His demise.
Standing triumphant above the dead Tempest, a light fell from the sky over the large woman, clad in thick armor with sharp human-like features and great wings. In her hands was her weapon. It almost looked like some form of cross.
“A sword or maybe a crossbow? Eh, I guess the person carving got lazy or rushed the end.” I thought aloud.
I removed my shiny new dagger as I inched closer.
I jolted to attention as the 2 Sentinels uniformly stepped to the side, each holding their sword with both hands, the tip down to the floor.
I finally stiffened my resolve and walked between the Sentinels entering the biggest room yet.
This dwarfed everything I’d seen so far.
While the rest of the tomb felt exactly like that, a tomb. This room felt like a tribute, or arena for the fallen warriors.
The walls were no longer crowded with the dead. Instead, tall pillars rose to the vaulted ceiling at intervals around the perimeter, each twisting ribbons of stone, as if wind itself had been trapped mid-spiral.
Walking further in I noticed the floor was pristine, polished with golden feather motifs. Enormous spiral patterns etched into the stone, each seeming to lead toward the raised stone dais. Behind the dais, a sealed archway with elaborate glyphs carved along the edge.
The objective was clear, I need to get through that door.
There was just one small dilemma.
Between me and this door, stood six disciples.
Four armored Sentinels arranged in a loose crescent across the open floor, their form as still as statues. Two robed figures lingered behind them near the dais, staffs angled toward the ground like wardens of ritual.
These disciples were clearly different from the others I’d fought so far. Everything from the not so rotten skin with no maggot eye sockets, down to the much more extravagant armor with matching garments.
As I took in the decadent surroundings a brilliant warm breeze tasting of fresh air crossed the room, whirling over the banners and ceremonial chimes before surging over my body to invigorate me.
The Disciple Sentinels raised their weapons and shields, at the same time the staves began to glow.
“Fucking mages. Why not?” I said to myself.
I activated Retaliating Wind.
“6 in front, 2 behind.” I said, making sure I keep tabs on the 2 Sentinels still standing by the door, not moving an inch since I entered.
“Let’s fuckin’ go!”
The Sentinels ahead were the first to move. All 4 stepped in perfect unison closing the arc.
I backpedaled, quickly setting a plan in motion.
The closest Disciples to my left and right both wore leather armor and wield Polearms, Partisan to the left, Halberd to the right.
Closely behind were the shield-bearers. Shields high, blades low. Wearing intricate steel breast plates.
Eh, too small for me.
They were closing in to set the hook.
I stressed trying to get a peak at their swords.
They looked to both be holding a Gladius type short sword. Better than dealing with long swords or great swords like the two behind me who still haven’t moved.
Before they finished herding me into the corner, I switched the dagger from right-hand to left and raised my right arm back, calling the broken sledge hammer to my hand.
As soon as the hammer appeared in my hand, we got cooking.
I threw the hammer full strength at the Partisan wielder.
The flying chunk of metal struck true, hitting the Disciple in the top of his chest to separate his shoulder as his arm fell limp, the tip of his weapon drooped to the ground.
I used the thrown weapon to close the distance against one of the most dangerous melee attackers.
I slid my blade into the gap between his neck and chest armor.
I dodged a quick thrust from the closest shield bearer but not completely, letting it slice a small gouge on my side, only a few Health points lost.
I deflected another incoming stab aimed for my leg.
Blood Lust was letting everyone know her name as a geyser erupted from the neck of the Undead Partisan wielder.
Duck!
The other side of the crescent closed as the Halberd sailed over head, at the same time a downwards slash from the other shield bearer, my blade parrying once again.
I was almost boxed in which was the last thing I needed.
I stepped back, ducking another swipe from the halberd before attempting to get out of reach once more.
Before I could get out of reach, a gust of wind conjured from the mages pushed me back into the kill zone.
I was slammed into the left shield bearer. I brought my dagger beneath his shield, leaving a small cut to the inside of his leg before being hit with a concussive shield bash.
The blow was disorienting, but I could still see enough to nearly spin away from the killing strike of the Halberd.
He pulled his weapon back leaving a gash across my back.
I stepped back in retreat.
Swords reigned shots from all directions, I blocked the most dangerous of blows, letting the others graze me and hit in non vital areas to stack damage.
80%
As they closed in for the kill, I dropped Retaliating Wind. Creating my own killing arc and pushing my enemies back, both shields kept their footing but Halberd tripped over his feet as he was not prepared when I triggered the spell.
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I used my new incredible speed to close the distance and shove my dagger into halberds chest. I gave it a twist for good luck before wrenching it out as I rolled over his now dead body.
“Two Down.” I muttered.
I stored my dagger and took up the old rusty Halberd.
I poked and prodded at shields, keeping them away as I circled closer to the Mages.
They sensed my plan, as it was quite obvious.
Kill the two most dangerous threats, being the long weapons, then the mages, then save the shields for dessert.
A twister appeared in front of the mages, lifting me off my feet and tossing me back into the far wall of the chamber.
I cast Retaliating Wind again before hitting the wall, letting it soak up more damage.
My Mana was very low. I had probably 5 seconds left before it ran out and I would be left wasted from over usage.
I called for Blood Lust as I hopped to my feet and sprinted at the mages.
I tossed the Halberd like a spear to distract the closest mage as I ran past him toward the other.
Blood Lust appeared in my left hand mid throw and I lunged at the second mage.
He slammed his staff to the ground creating a wild nova of wind energy.
At the very same time I released my own spell. There wasn’t much damage built up but focused in one area it was just enough to ease the wind and give me passage through the nova.
With one more step I sunk my dagger into his neck.
I turned to see one of the shield bearers running rampant with his sword held high.
I reached back pulling my Dagger from the mages neck to an explosion of blood that covered the other mage and the closing shieldman.
I shot forward sliding under the arm of the shield bearer with a reverse grip then ripped the dagger through his waist, disemboweling him as his blood and gore joined the mess.
I reached back, stealing his shield as I kicked him over, spinning to meet the last blade left on the field with my new shield.
The blade sliced down with dynamic power.
The rusted blade looked to be covered in some sort of magic, helping the cutting edge travel further through the steel shield than it should have. The blade stopped just shy of slicing off my hand.
The Disciple attempted to pull back and strike again but his blade was stuck.
I stored my dagger, calling for it again as soon as it hit my inventory. With my hand free I grabbed the shield with both hands and twisted, rotating the sword and breaking my enemies grip on his weapon.
Blood Lust reappeared and I delivered two small cuts to his leg, one that instantly began spewing his rancid decayed blood.
As I went for a finishing blow on the last melee fighter the Mage had another spell loaded and ready to roll.
I reached down, pulling the shield back up just in time to be hit by a barrage of gusts.
Each hit created a reverberating clang that echoed through the room like hammer to anvil, leaving dents in the shield.
I kept the shield raised as I fought through the barrage and closed the distance with a new found strength and the will to live. To not end up another corpse stuck here serving a dead man.
I ran straight into the mage.
We tumbled over each other falling off of the dais. Before I could fully get my feet back under me the last melee fighter blitzed with a shield charge that sent me skidding across the floor.
He reached down pulling his sword from the busted up shield. Only then, noticing the amount of thick dark blood covering his feet.
As the mage and I tumbled over one another, I let go of the shield and drove my dagger through her rib cage, piercing her heart. I quickly stored the dagger just before being hit by the charging shield.
Once my momentum stopped I rose to my feet calling Blood Lust for the last time.
For some reason, the Sentinels went crazy after the death of a Mage. I didn’t understand but it worked to my advantage again as the last of the Sentinels closed in with a flurry of swings.
I dodged and parried, keeping my distance as I waited for an opportunity to present itself.
“Gotcha fucker.” I said as the surprisingly fast and accurate Undead Revenant finally over extended.
I stepped in performing a snake disarm that my father would be proud of.
I caught the sword under my armpit, latched onto his wrist then turned to create pressure and send his blade to the ground.
Blood Lust finished the job as I slipped it across his neck, turning to the 2 sentinels by the door.
Blood rained.
The 2 remaining sentinels walked into the room. Swords in a shoulder carriage, not appearing to be a threat, but I stood ready.
They walked past me as I picked up the head to my sledgehammer again, one stood at each end of the next door.
“What the fuck is this?” I said as I walked around looting the corpses.
“Mmm, Tasty…” I said before downing the rest of the health potion looted from one of the mages.
I received one other health potion off Halberd dude, and one of the shield guys had his own dagger to boot.
It wasn’t as good as my current one but I took it anyways.
The daggers stats read,
[Crude Sentinels Rondel – 10 Base Damage, +10% Backstab Damage]
“Can’t have enough shit to throw, eh boys?” I wiggled my eyebrows at the two swordmen by the door, not getting any response.
I walked to the last mage, “Loot.”
“Well... What do we have here?” I asked myself while removing the last item.
“A tuning fork? Huh, you guys jam?” I asked of my two chaperones, getting no response again.
The system labeled it as a Resonance Tuning Fork. No other information provided.
I stretched as I walked to the Sentinels, “Should help me stay in key anyway... Suppose it’s time to move along. I really need to wrap this up, it feels like I’ve been here for days. Maybe weeks?”
I was attempting to recall the labyrinth I traveled through to figure out how long I’d been stuck but my memories were a blur, it was like trying to watch that one static channel on the old tube televisions that never came in all the way, fuzzy with a hint of LSD trip.
I remembered the first few attempts looping me back somehow, and I remembered from the final attempt to where I was at the moment, but for some reason, it felt like there was a substantial amount of time missing while I was lost.
I walked to the door, finally noticing the name of my two guard friends.
[Wind Apostle]
[Undead Guardian]
“Ah, so you 2 have the ol’ back of the hand stamp to get in the club eh?” I joked waiting for something to happen.
I took a step back as both of the Apostle’s held out their arms and activated a spell. It looked like Retaliating Wind but the aura of air only seemed to cover their forearm and hands.
They reached out, each setting a hand on the door.
They looked back and I took the hint and walked forward.
I activated Retaliating Wind, placing my hand on the door then it began to open. I cut the spell as soon as I could to avoid the, 'No Mana Zone'.
The smaller yet still grandiose room glowed dim bluish green, as if there was some intangible mist that lit the room. A constant robust wind constantly circulated, each time the gust rumbled over me I felt sadness and despair.
But mostly, anger.
There was a chest in the front of the room and to the back, a weapon rack full of deadly fantasy weapons.
The low ceiling spun in a circle, lower and lower to the center of the room. It looked as if a tornado falling from the sky was frozen and caged in stone, and in the center of the room right under the twister, was a sarcophagus.
I’d never felt anything quite like it before, the air was thick with power that seemed to emanate from the tomb. The power was inconceivable.
I understood why the Ba fought so hard to keep me out of here. If this power were released or in the wrong hands, entire worlds could fall.
“Speak of the devil,” I said as the wind picked up.
He appeared in front of the stone casket, a black cloak pulled over his head seeming to blur the shape inside of the hood.
“I am no devil. You must leave now and touch nothing.” The Ba spoke once more, this time his voice sounding gruff and ragged.
His breaths were long and wheezing, but his words firm.
I responded, “It’s a figure of speech bub. I really wish I could just leave, but I have to do this so I can go home.”
“If you step any further I will have no choice but to kill you.” He said dropping his hood.
He was old, frail. His once brilliant plumage was dull and worn. The bright lively glow his eyes once held, now looked sick and exhausted.
I flashed forward with dagger in hand.
I sunk it into the chest of the Ba, punching in on the pommel with my left hand then turning the blade that pierced his heart.
“No, you wont... I’m sorry.” I said, directly storing my dagger in my inventory without pulling it from his chest.
Like a gentle waterfall in mid summer, blood poured from his chest, and he smiled at me.
“Good job disciple. You have... One more test... Good luck.” He said with his last breath, leaving me confused and full of questions.
I waited for the twister to come down and take the Ba.
It never came.
I turned around to the two Apostles, “Hey! What the fuck does that mean?”
No response.
“No, Nothing? Fucking Hell.” The thickness of the breeze was bleeding into my emotions. My confusion rising, churning into more outrage.
I thought of everything so far since my world was turned to shit. This was the first time I thought about why I was in here, and it just made me even more pissed off.
I thought of the family I buried, the girl who feasted on her own mother. The mother who tried to save her baby from her other child just to end up suffocating it.
It seemed so long ago.
It was burned into my brain, no fuzziness or warping to the scene.
Not knowing how long I had been stuck just infuriated me more, stoking the flames higher.
Maybe I can use the power in this tomb to fix my own world.
At least make sure that shit doesn’t happen to anyone else.
I walked closer to the Sarcophagus, my body numb, no senses again only crazed rage.
I pulled up my quest,
[Release the spirit of Shu the Tempest to exit dungeon.]
It was unmistakable what it wanted me to do.
Push the lid off and let the spirit out.
Was it the system that wanted me to open it or the spirit itself?
I walked to the side of the sarcophagus and put my hands on the lid but before pushing, I noticed it was already cracked.
Pure energy, authority and emotion poured from the fractured tomb.
It wanted me to open the lid.
“Fuck what this thing wants.”
I pushed until the top and bottom were lined up plumb, sealing the tomb completely.
The constant, violent gusts suddenly stopped, leaving the air feeling as dead as it was when I first entered this hell hole.
A new voice spoke, deep and gentle but firm. The words entered straight into my mind.
“Thank you disciple. I have been unable to rest for centuries but with your help I can now sleep once more. The power that you turned down was not yours to wield but perhaps could have been. For a moment anyways... Many have come for it, few have made it this far. However, none have passed the temptation of wielding a God’s power.” It was Shu the Tempest speaking directly in my mind, the one I was here to release.
“More have come before me? Not from my world I’m assuming? What happened to them?” I asked.
“Correct, many more have tried. Most die in the labyrinth, those who made it through there primarily died by the hands of my apostles. The few who made it past them died to my guardian. Only one other has made it to my sarcophagus, and he is the one who originally disturbed my rest hundreds of years ago.” He explained.
“What happened to him?"
“He tried to take that which he was not ready for. Greed is a weakness that my power will never tolerate. You may take one item from my chest, and one weapon from the rack... But choose wisely, as only one of the items is made for mortal hands.” His tone asserting that he can not, and will not, extrapolate further.
“Thanks, but I just want to get back to my dog.” I said to the tomb, eyeing the weapons and the chest to my side.
He laughed the sound feeling like a warm summers breeze, “I see, and I apologize but you must choose. Once you make your choice, turn and walk out of the door and you will be reunited with your friend shortly. I wish you luck... Heaven, is, n—,” The last words faded before I could make any sense of what he was trying to say.
“What does that even mean?” I asked, receiving nothing but the deafening silence of the cavern.
Kneeling down I opened the chest. There was only one item in the chest, “Was he fucking with me? ‘You may take one item’,” I said doing my best impression and chuckling.
I removed the item, placing it into my inventory to read the description before immediately equipping it.
[Cloak of The Ba—Growth Item—Self Repairing—2 Sockets—+5 Armor, +5 Dexterity, +5 Endurance, +5 Vitality—30% Reduced damage from physical projectiles—When the hood is raised, obscures the wearers face and provides visibility reduction while still.]
This was by far the best piece of anything that I had, “I wonder what I could socket into it? Guess I’ll figure it out down the road.”
I stood to my feet and walked to the weapon rack. I could see the few choices I had before reaching it.
From left to right, a golden bow with a metallic quiver full of arrows. Next, a beautiful sword with a blade that looked to be made out of glass emanating the same bluish glow as the surrounding room.
There was a beautiful wooden Jo-staff with dark runic engravings running up the entire length in a spiral. The next was a giant Battle-Axe with a large crescent blade that looked ready to slay entire armies of monsters and zombies. The Axe looked familiar.
Ah! It's the same shape as the one depicted in those carvings!
The last weapon was a larger staff, it seemed to be some sort of magical stave. The tip had a large green crystal set between branches that grew from the top of the staff to coil around the crystal and hold it in place.
I looked over each item keeping what Shu said in the forefront my mind.
The bow and sword were obviously and unfortunately, not coming with me as they looked straight out of a fantasy game. Both the short and long magical staff had a very powerful look about them, and although the Axe was the most normal looking weapon, it radiated the most power and looked like the axe from the pictures, regardless, it had a deadly aura that pulled me in.
I felt the overwhelming urge to take the Battle-Axe and immediately turn around and kill the two apostles behind me.
I reached out grasping the handle of the Battle-Axe but stopped before removing it.
This isn't right...
It took every ounce of willpower I had to reverse the pull of the weapon.
I blinked, using the millisecond of darkness to look away from the weapon coaxing me to slaughter.
I grabbed the Jo-staff turned and walked straight back through the arch that led me into this room.
I was suddenly outside the Tomb where I first fought Ba.
I didn’t feel anything or see any sort of rift, it was like I blinked and was suddenly somewhere else.
“Did I just teleport? Whoa...” I whispered in awe, noticing a new exclamation point in my HUD.
[Title Unlocked! - Windbreaker]
[Quest Complete! Release the Spirit of Shu the Tempest to exit the dungeon.]
[You have chosen to seal the tomb of the Tempest God, Shu, Releasing his spirit to rest once more. +5 Unallocated Stat Points, Safe Zone Acquired, Affinity with Wind Magic Strengthened.]
[Step Through the rift to return to your realm.]
I pulled up the new title,
[Windbreaker— Shwsh Shwsh Shwsh— +5 Slashing and Wind Resistance, +5 Endurance—You faced the winds of judgment, and survived!]
A tear in space appeared in front of me. No bright or glowing colors separating the portal from the backdrop, no sort of clear outline to show where one area stopped and the other began.
The only way to tell it was a portal was because it’s day time in this world and night time back home, making the moonlit forest look ominous. If it were night time in my current location there would be no way to tell where the rift was.
I suddenly felt exhausted. My adrenaline finally had a chance to crash.
I sighed, taking in the beautiful alien landscape once more then stepped through the portal.